Doctor Who Fan Fiction ❯ Rose and Nine The Inbetweens and backstories ❯ Chapter Thirteen ( Chapter 13 )

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There was a 300 mile diameter asteroid falling towards the TARDIS at 67,209 miles an hour. Fortunately, by design, the TARDIS was keeping ahead of it at exactly the same speed.

`Rose, see that knob?' the Doctor asked as he pointed to the section of the console she was standing in front of.

`Er . . . yeah, I see it.'

`If the needle moves into the yellow, turn it anti-clockwise, if it moves into the red, turn it clockwise.'

`Yellow anti-clockwise, red clockwise, got it.'

`Jack, keep an eye on the power reserves, this is going to put a strain on the Old Girl and we may need to reroute power from other systems. Try and keep the Helmic Regulator supplied with 60% of the available reserves.'

`Okay Doc, I'm on it, you concentrate on the flyin', yeah?'

`Yeah, and remember, there are a trillion people on the surface relying on us to do this right, if we mess this up, it's bye bye Shallacatop.'

`No pressure then?' Rose said sarcastically.

The TARDIS was generating a massive gravity well that was drawing the rogue asteroid away from its collision with the planet Shallacatop and would drag it into the sun, so that it couldn't swing around and collide some time in the future.

The Time Rotor was grinding up and down, and the whole structure of the TARDIS was vibrating under the strain of maintaining a gravity field that would attract the huge mass of the asteroid. The Doctor was running around like a madman, cooing and coaxing the TARDIS to do her best.

After two hours, he checked the readings on the view screen, shut down the console and collapsed onto the jump seat with a sigh. `That's it, we've done it! The stars gravity has captured the asteroid, its fate is sealed.'

Jack and Rose whooped and high fived each other. Rose joined the Doctor on the jump seat, held his hand, and rested her head on his shoulder. `You must be knackered after all that runnin' about. Why don't you go through to the living room and I'll put the kettle on.'

`Good idea,' Jack said. `I'll rustle up some sandwiches.'

In the sitting room, they enjoyed a cup of tea, except for Jack, who had coffee, and tucked into the sandwiches that Jack had prepared. Rose was catching up on the episodes of EastEnders that she'd missed, whilst laughing and chatting with `the lads'.

`What's the status on the power reserves?' the Doctor asked Jack, as he finished off a cheese sandwich.

`We've got enough to roam about for a few days, but we'll need to stop off and fill the tank fairly soon.'

`Fill the tank?' Rose asked as she sipped her tea, she'd never considered that the TARDIS needed fuel.

`Yeah, normally the TARDIS balances the energy it uses with the energy it regenerates. What we've done today means that she doesn't have enough energy to regenerate, so any energy we use won't be replaced.'

Rose was a bit concerned, did this mean they could get stranded somewhere in time and space. `Are we in trouble?'

The Doctor reached across the sofa and squeezed her hand in reassurance. `Nah, we're fine, we just have to sit next to an energy source for a day or two, and the Old Girl will be fine.'

`What kind of energy does the TARDIS use?' Rose asked.

`Artron energy, it's a form of psionic/temporal energy that's the energy of thought and perception, it's the stuff of History itself,' he told her.

`And where do we get that from then, is there a filling station or somethin'?'

The Doctor gave a laugh. `Yeah, there is, sort of. Black holes and other phenomena that warp space time generate Artron energy.' He looked at her and waggled his eyebrows. `Any `rift' in the fabric of time and space.'

Rose was processing what he had told her, and saw him grinning at her; he wanted her to make a connection, and suddenly the penny dropped.

`The Cardiff Rift! We can use the rift to refuel.'

`Exactly, and it beats being cooped up in here while we sit next to a black hole for two days.'

`Er . . . excuse me,' Jack said. `The Cardiff Rift?'

While they finished their drinks and sandwiches, the Doctor and Rose told Jack the tale of their trip to Cardiff and the Gelth that had tried to use the rift to invade the Earth.

`So we're goin' to be in Cardiff for a couple of days?' Rose asked. `I need to make a phone call.' She felt it was time to be up front and honest with a certain someone.

While the Doctor went to land the TARDIS in Cardiff, Rose made her way to her room, took out her `super phone' and speed dialled Mickey. It was time to do the decent thing and tell him that she was never going back to her old life on the estate, and she had to do it face to face . . . she owed him that much at least.

Mickey was in the pub with his mates from the garage, watching the match on the large screen TV. It was a lively atmosphere, as their team were winning two - nil at the moment. There was a loud `YES!' as the keeper made a spectacular save.

Mickey's phone started ringing, and he looked at the display. He put his finger in one ear and put the phone to the other.

`Rose, Babe, where are you?'

`Mickey, can you hear me?' She could hear the noise in the pub in the background. `We're in Cardiff for a coupla days. Can you swing by Mum's, pick up my passport and come and visit. It'd be really great to see you again.'

It was Rose, she was back, and she was asking to see him. She didn't say `we need to talk', which would have meant `I need to tell you we're finished', she said `it would be great to see you again'.

`Yeah Babe, I'll book a ticket online as soon as I get home. I'll be on the first train in the mornin'. Where abouts are you in Cardiff?'

`We've landed in the Roald Dahl Plass, right next to that tall stone slab with the water pourin' down it.'

`Okay Babe, I'll see you there in the mornin', an' Rose . . . I've missed you.'

`I've missed you too Mickey, see ya tomorrow.'

She went back to the living room, and found the Doctor and Jack chatting and laughing. The Doctor looked at her, his expression unreadable.

`Is your mum coming to visit by any chance?' That would be just what he needed, another slap and a telling off for keeping her daughter away from home.

`Nah, Mickey's comin' to bring my passport.'

`Hah, talk about a fool's errand, I told you, you don't need a passport out there,' he said. Rose knew that, but she wanted Mickey to have a purpose, a reason to come and visit her without feeling that he was just an obedient puppy obeying his mistress.

Jack couldn't help but notice the tension in the room.

`Who's Mickey?'

`Her/My boyfriend,' they said together.

“Boyfriend”? Jack thought to himself. “Oh this is going to be good”.

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`Is that somebody knocking on the door?' Jack asked. He walked down the ramp and opened it. `Who the hell are you?' he asked the young dark skinned guy standing outside the door.

`What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?' Mickey said in a confrontational tone.

`Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you're selling, we're not buying,' Jack said, closing the door.

`Get out of my way!' Mickey said, pushing past him and heading up the ramp.

The Doctor was up a ladder, working on a conduit junction on the wall, while Rose was looking at something on the console with her back to him. She was wearing a denim outfit, mini skirt, and jacket, with black tights and boots. And she'd got her hair in pigtails, oh God; she looked hot and cute at the same time.

`Don't tell me, this must be Mickey,' Jack said.

`Here comes trouble!' the Doctor said from up the ladder. `How're you doing, Ricky boy?'

`It's Mickey!'

Rose had left the console and came up to Mickey. `Don't listen to him, he's winding you up.'

`You look fantastic.' Mickey gave her an appreciative look, and Rose grabbed him in a hug. The Doctor silently watched them from the ladder with a disapproving look on his face.

`Aw, sweet, look at these two. How come I never get any of that?' Jack was trying to break the ice and defrost the atmosphere.

The Doctor dragged his eyes away from Rose and Mickey. `Buy me a drink first.'

`You're such hard work.'

`But worth it,' he grinned, turning back to the conduit to finish his work.

`Did you manage to find it?' Rose asked him.

Mickey reached inside his coat and took out her passport. `There you go.'

The Doctor resumed his silent vigil from on high.

`I can go anywhere now.' She waved her passport at the Doctor with a smile.

`I told you, you don't need a passport.'

She looked at Mickey as she started to explain. `It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it.' She turned back to look at the Doctor and gave him her teasing smile. `You see, I'm prepared for anything.'

Mickey's expression turned to disappointment. `Sounds like you're staying, then.' Rose looked guilty, she'd been busted.

The Doctor had noticed that as well, it did sound like she was staying. His mood started to lighten at that news.

`So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up there.' He pointed up at the Doctor.

`Oi!' the Doctor protested.

`Look in the mirror. But this guy, I don't know, he's kind of . . .' Mickey struggled for the right description.

`Handsome?' Jack suggested.

`More like cheesy,' Mickey decided.

`Early twenty first Century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?' He was trying to remember what he'd taught Das the Neanderthal about early twenty first Century language.

`It's bad.'

`But bad means good, isn't that right?'

`Are you saying I'm not handsome?' the Doctor asked from up the ladder. Mickey had opened up a whole can of worms by mentioning the ears. He was still sensitive about the ears; there was a memory of a posh, gravelly voice asking for kinder ears.

Rose started to explain to Mickey. `We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions.'

The Doctor scooted down the ladder, a spring back in his step now that he knew Rose was staying. `The rift was healed back in 1869.'

`Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth, because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway, but she saved the world and closed it,' Rose told him.

Jack added his understanding of the concept. `But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race.'

`But perfect for the TARDIS,' the Doctor said. `So just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and . . .'

`Open up the engines, soak up the radiation.' That was Jack's turn.

`Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!' Rose points into the distance.

`Into time!' Jack's turn again.

`And space!' the three of them said together with a high five.

Mickey felt like the kid at school, who was always the last one to be picked for the team, the outsider. `My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?'

`Yeah,' the Doctor said without hesitation.

Rose considered the question, grinned, and nodded. `Yeah.'

Jack gave Mickey's cheek a friendly slap. `Yep!'

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Rose entered the TARDIS, the Doctor and Jack were at the console, preparing her for flight. `We're all powered up. We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that's all right.' He could see that she'd been crying.

`Yeah, fine,' she answered distractedly. It was fair to say that the evening hadn't gone as planned. When she'd tried to tell Mickey that it was over, she'd chickened out. It just seemed so final.

The Doctor was feeling guilty about his behaviour to her boyfriend. `How's Mickey?' he asked, trying to make amends.

`He's okay. He's gone,' she said quietly. Mickey had worked it out for himself after the rift had opened and she went running back to the TARDIS to help the Doctor.

`Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait.'

Jack deliberately gave him a questioning look, wondering what he was playing at. There was no room for Mickey here with these two making eyes at each other all the time, no matter how big the TARDIS was on the inside.

And when he'd challenged the Doctor about the view screen, he'd denied looking at anything, but he'd seen his expression. When the Doctor took Blon to dinner, it was a simple task to pull up the view screen logs and see what he was looking at, and yes, he'd been watching Rose and Mickey outside.

When Rose answered, she had come to a decision, or more accurately, Mickey had. `No need. He deserves better.'

`Off we go, then. Always moving on,' he said with forced cheeriness.

`Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don't often get to say that,' Jack quipped.

`We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again . . . a second chance.'

`That'd be nice.' Rose just stood on the ramp, deep in thought.

A second chance, that's what Mickey had come to Cardiff hoping for, and Rose had invited him to show him that her life now, was travelling with the Doctor. She felt a sense of belonging here she'd never dreamed possible. She was content with her life on the TARDIS, that this was HER second chance.